From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Trump deploys National Guard as protests against immigration agents continue in LA
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US President Donald Trump’s administration says it will deploy 2,000 National Guard troops on Saturday as federal agents in Los Angeles faced off against a few hundred demonstrators during a second day of protests following immigration raids.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon is prepared to mobilize active-duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton are “on high alert.”
Federal security agents on Saturday confronted protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where some demonstrators displayed Mexican flags. A second protest in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night attracted some 60 people, who chanted slogans including “ICE out of LA!”
Trump signed a presidential memorandum to deploy the National Guard troops to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” the White House says.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed in Los Angeles on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom calls the decision “purposefully inflammatory.” He posts on X that Trump is deploying the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” adding: “Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
The Times of Israel Community.